Immune Response Profiling of Patients with Anogenital Warts

Abstract

The incidence of anogenital warts, commonly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV-6 and HPV-11), is increasing worldwide. These infections are frequently associated with relapse, possibly due to weak host immunity. However, the role of cell-mediated immune players in combating infection is not clearly understood till date. Here, we attempted to understand the immune profile among patients with anogenital warts. In this study, we compared the T-helper cell (Th1 and Th2) response in patients with venereal warts due to HPV-6 and HPV-11 infection relative to healthy controls (HCs) in vitro. In the in vitro model, the peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with HPV peptide 6 or 11, stained for T-cell surface marker and intracellular cytokines (interferon [IFN]-□ and interleukin [IL]-4), and were analyzed by flow cytometry. In the present study, significant decrease was observed in the frequency of IFN-□ T cells as compared with HCs. On the contrary, frequency of T cells expressing IL-4 was significantly increased in the patients. The observed functional skewing of HPV-specific T cells from Th1 to Th2 response in patients indicated suppressed immunity against the HPVs. Findings of our study have potential in the near future for strategizing adjunct immunomodulation approaches with the standard treatment for early remission and prevention of recurrence. How to cite this article Singh M, Thakral D, Kar HK, Rishi N, Mitra DK. Immune Response Profiling of Patients with Anogenital Warts. Indian J Med Biochem 2017;21(1):11-16.